Gifts: Silent Striders
The Silent Striders Gifts Spirits in service to or allied with a tribe's totem teach Tribal Gifts. Some tribes' Gifts haven't changed in centuries, while others (such as the Glass Walkers) regularly reinvent their relationship with the spirits. Learning a Gift from another tribe usually requires the Garou to be on good terms with at least one member of the tribe (generally a packmate) who can summon the appropriate spirit. Even then, the Garou must convince the spirit she is worthy of its blessings, and that she won't turn them against its tribal allies. Some Garou are extremely touchy about outsiders learning their tribal blessings, while others believe the practice strengthens the Garou Nation as a whole in its war against the Wyrm. The spirits bless the enigmatic Striders with Gifts of travel and speed. Rank 1 Heaven’s Guidance The Strider is never lost while the stars shine in the sky. This Gift is taught by a spirit servant of the North Star. System: The werewolf gains an innate sense of direction; he always knows which way is north and the path he took to reach where he is. This Gift's effects are permanent. Sense Wyrm The werewolf can sense nearby manifestations of the Wyrm. This Gift involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although Garou often describe the Wyrm's spiritual emanations as a stench. This Gift doesn't necessarily sense dedication to the Wyrm, merely contact with its spiritual essence, which can cling to even blameless souls. Sense Wyrm requires active concentration; the spiritual sense it provides doesn't function passively. The Gift may be taught by any Gaian spirit. System: The player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the concentration and strength of the Wyrm's influence: Sensing a single fomor in the next room would be difficulty 6, while detecting the stench of a Bane that was in the room an hour ago would be difficulty 7. Vampires register as Wyrm-tainted, save those with Humanity ratings of 7 or higher. Silence The Strider can muffle any sound she makes, the better to creep up on the Wyrm's minions or escape them unnoticed. An owl-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player adds two dice to all Dexterity + Stealth rolls. Speed of Thought The Garou doubles her running speed. A roadrunner- or cheetah-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point. The Gift lasts until the end of the scene. Visions of Dust The werewolf's eyes become cloudy and pale as she attunes her vision to the ashen landscape of the Underworld. An owl-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Perception + Occult (difficulty 7). For the rest of the scene, the character can see (and hear) ghosts and detect haunted areas with another Perception + Occult roll (difficulty corresponds to the severity of the haunting). This Gift bestows no power to touch or communicate with the dead, however -- that usually requires the use of the Descent Into The Underworld rite. A botch causes the Garou's eyes to shine as beacons in the underworld, drawing the notice of broken, vengeful shades. Rank 2 Axis Mundi The Silent Strider reaches out with her spirit to feel the presence of Gaia, centering herself with relation to her Mother. She always knows what direction she is traveling or facing in, so long as she travels within the Gaia Realm. The spirits of migratory birds teach this Gift. System: This Gift's effects are permanent. Blissful Ignorance The Garou can become completely invisible to all senses, spirits or monitoring devices by remaining still. A chameleon-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player rolls Stamina + Stealth (difficulty 5). Each success subtracts one success from the Perception + Alertness rolls of those looking for the character. If no one is actively seeking the werewolf, one success provides perfect concealment. Messenger’s Fortitude The Strider can run at full speed for three days without rest, food, or water. When she reaches her destination, she has 10 minutes to complete whatever business brought her, then she must sleep for one full day. A camel- or wolf-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point. Doing anything other than running ends the Gift. Others may be granted the Messenger's Fortitude as well, for one Gnosis point per additional runner. Speech of the World This Gift allows Gaia'’s warriors to read and wield the spirit of speech, bypassing the need to learn different languages and dialects. The Garou may speak and understand any human language she encounters, though she speaks with an obvious accent, marking her as an outsider. Speech of the World doesn't convey literacy, nor is it an encyclopedia of cultural information. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player rolls Intelligence + Academics (difficulty 7). The effect lasts for one scene. Tread Sebek’s Back The werewolf calls upon the river to support her steps, allowing her to walk or run across water or other liquids. Her feet gain no special protection if she chooses to run across Wyrm-toxins or other hazardous liquids. A crocodile-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Dexterity + Survival (difficulty 7). The Strider may travel across liquid as if it were open ground for one hour per success. Rank 3 Adaptation The Strider takes no damage from poison or disease, and he may exist in any environment, regardless of pressure, temperature, or atmospheric conditions. This Gift doesn't protect the Garou from hazardous situations (such as falling), only hazardous environments. A bear-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Stamina + Survival (difficulty 7). The Gift lasts for one hour per success. Great Leap The Strider can jump truly astounding distances. A jackrabbit-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Willpower point and rolls Strength + Athletics. The character may jump 100 feet per success. Mark of the Death-Wolf The Silent Strider uses his claws to gouge an eerie sigil into a nearby surface, which fascinates and attracts the unquiet dead. An owl-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point upon making the mark, which takes a full turn, and then rolls Wits + Occult (difficulty 7). The mark retains its mystic potency for one week per success, leaving the area around it badly haunted if there are any ghosts in the area at all. Destroying the mark can end this Gift's effects prematurely. Sense the Unnatural The werewolf can sense any supernatural presence and determine its approximate strength and type. Supernatural presences can include magic, spirits, Wyrm taint, ghosts, vampires, faeries, and any other such unnatural manifestation -- although it won't pick them out specifically as such. A werewolf may sense a person plagued by haunting as easily as a ghost. Any spirit servant of Gaia can teach this Gift. System: The player rolls Perception + Enigmas (difficulty 6). The more successes he rolls, the more information he gains. The sensory input is somewhat vague and subject to interpretation, though. For instance, a vampire might smell of clotted blood, fear, corpse-meat or whatever else the Storyteller finds appropriate. Rank 4 Attunement As the Attunement Bone Gnawer Gift, but when learned, the Strider must decide whether the Gift functions in the city or the wilderness. The "city" version is identical to the Bone Gnawer Gift; the "wilderness" version is similar, but the roll required is Perception + Survival. (The werewolf may commune with the spirits of a city or town and gain information about the area from them, including a rough population estimate, enclaves of Garou or other beings, and any secret tunnels. This Gift doesn't function in the wilderness, since the Bone Gnawers have lost the knack for conversing with such spirits easily. A rat-spirit teaches this Gift.) System: The player spends one point of Gnosis and rolls Perception + Streetwise (difficulty 6). The amount and accuracy of the information depend on the number of successes rolled. Black Mark The Strider's claws darken with the leaden sheen of the Dark Umbra, marking her foes fit for the attentions of the restless dead. An owl-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player may spend a point of Gnosis when the strider successfully strikes an opponent with her claws, but before rolling damage. The target becomes haunted for one day per level of damage inflicted, as with Mark of the Death-Wolf. Dam the Heartflood No tribe hates vampires more than the Silent Striders, who lost their homeland to the leeches. This Gift allows Strider heroes to nullify the magic inherent to blood. It is taught by a cobra-spirit. System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Occult (difficulty of the target's Willpower). Each success prevents the target from using any magic related in any way to blood for one turn. It also prohibits the spending of blood points for any purpose for the same duration, should the target possess a blood pool trait (such as that of vampires, ghouls, and Ananasi). Speed Beyond Thought The werewolf can run at 10 times his normal land speed. The effects last for up to eight hours, during which the Strider can do nothing but concentrate on running. When the Gift's effects end, the werewolf must eat immediately or face frenzy from hunger. A cheetah- or air-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Stamina + Athletics (difficulty 7) to activate this Gift. Rank 5 Gate of the Moon This Gift creates as specialized moon bridge that takes the Strider to her destination instantly. At least a sliver of the moon must be visible at her area of departure. A Lune teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point for every 100 miles the Strider needs to travel. She then rolls Intelligence + Alertness (difficulty varies by how far the journey is and how well the Strider knows the way). Success transports the character instantly to her destination. Reach the Umbra The Garou may step in and out of the Umbra at will, without need of a reflective surface or even any effort at all. An owl-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The Garou may step sideways instantly, at any time, with no fear of being "caught." No roll is necessary. All rolls to enter or leave Umbral Realms receive a –2 difficulty bonus. She may not, however, spend Rage on the turn that she steps sideways. The Garou may not step sideways quickly enough to dodge an attack that has already been declared.